Guest Blogger: Daniel 1

Hot Rod is about a young and passionate stuntman named Rod Kimble. Rod has spent his entire life doing stunts, but when his stepfather, who he is constantly trying to impress, is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he takes it upon himself to raise the money to save his father’s life. Andy Samberg, who plays Rod, is absolutely hilarious. Andy brings this surreal man-child to life perfectly with his huge smile, goofy personality, and child-like features. Rods group of misfit friends, Rod’s brother, Kevin, played by Jorma Taccone, Dave, played by Bill Hader, and Rico, played by Danny Mcbride, are the perfect ensemble to go along with Rod’s crazy antics. Each one of the characters brings something different to the screen making the comedy very diverse while at the same time working perfectly as an ensemble. The main theme in this movie is to always stay positive and never give up. We see this throughout the movie as Rod constantly gets injured or put-down, and yet he always gets right back up with the same positivity and determination as before. Another theme you can see in the movie is nice guys always win which is shown through the love triangle between Denise, Johnathan, and Rod. This movie is very hit or miss with most viewers, most people find it either extremely funny and laugh throughout the movie or they don’t get any of the humor and think it’s incredibly stupid. Critics are pretty much split in half as well. A. O. Scott from the New York Times stated in his August 3rd review “In any case poor certainly describes the quality of the filmmaking”. Other people like Roger Ebert stated in his review on August 2nd 2007 “The movie is funny because it is sincere. It likes Rod”. This is the perfect statement for the people who like the movie. It portrays Rod, who could have been portrayed as an idiot who can never do anything right, as a hero who will never give up on his dreams which I believe resonates with a lot of people. All in all I would definitely recommend seeing this movie, it’s a great goofy comedy that has extremely memorable and relatable characters.